Aldi's New Lemon Meringue Tarts Have One Major Flaw

Late summer in the Aldi Aisle of Shame has a split personality. Pumpkin creep is already evident in August Aldi finds, such as mini pumpkin coffee cakes and pumpkin spice kettle corn, but the refrigerated desserts case also held something more summery: Specially Selected Lemon Meringue Tartlets. A box of two tartlets is priced at $5.49, which is expensive for an Aldi dessert, but I rationalized the purchase by reminding myself that bakery tarts would cost a lot more. Also, Specially Selected is the store's premium brand, so they might be really good.

The crust is a standard piecrust made with real butter, which is always a good sign. The pie filling is described as lemon curd topped with Italian meringue, which checks out. Of the three types of meringue — these being French, Italian, and Swiss – French is often preferred for meringue pies, but Swiss and Italian are also acceptable.

Upon unboxing, my first impression was that the topping looked a little artificial — the browning on top seemed sprayed on, since the pattern was too symmetrical to have come from broiling. Also, the meringue was less stable than it should have been. It wasn't weeping but did droop after a few minutes out of the refrigerator, and once I cut the tart in half, it started to slide.

My first bite was mostly meringue, which tasted ... well, not terrible, just not like I was expecting. Most meringue pie toppings I've eaten have been stiffer and foamier, but this one had the taste and consistency of less-sugary marshmallow fluff. Marshmallows, while similar, aren't actually a type of meringue. When I made it down to the lemon curd layer, I found it to have a nice tang, but it was difficult to detect under all that meringue (there was far more of the latter than the former). The crust was pretty thick, a little bit sweet, and stayed nice and flaky instead of getting soggy under the toppings, although that may have been aided by the lemon curd forming a protective barrier against the meringue.

Overall, I'd rate the meringue component 3/5 with the lemon filling and crust each receiving 4/5. This averages out to 3⅔. To end on a more optimistic note, I did figure out a way to improve the second half of the dessert. I used a spoon to eat the meringue separately (waste not, want not, even for something so-so), then enjoyed my four-star lemon curd tart unencumbered by goo.